The real Chinatown

Living in a specific culture for a long time causes us to get accustomed to the common norms, habits and lifestyle of that particular culture. We usually learn how to Socialize in a specific culture based on what we observe and discover. However, we don’t realize how accustomed we are to the culture we’re living in until we experience life in another culture. This past winter break, I knew for the first time what it’s like to experience a cultural shock in a foreign country. Since culture is the way of life of people and considering that I’ve never been outside of the Middle East, my trip to China was certainly a unique cultural experience. Everything I knew about China before the trip came from either books or movies, and I now understand that movies definitely are not a mere reflection of reality. However, three particular aspects of the Chinese culture that I thought were very interesting are language, food and Chinese driving habits!

The language barrier was the first obstacle I faced as soon as I arrived. Since English is one of the most widely used language in the world, I assumed that I could communicate with people through speaking English, but from the first day I discovered that people who belong to a specific social class, in this case the upper class or “highbrow," are mostly the ones who use English. However, luckily enough I was there with my friend Penny who was the Agent of Socialisation for me there considering that she is Chinese. Agents of socialisation are the people who influence our self-concepts, emotions and attitudes and guide us through the norms and traditions in a particular culture.

Moreover, food was another aspect of the Chinese culture that I think highlighted the importance of the social life in China. It's not only the way the food cooked or who in the family is in charge of cooking it that I found interesting, but it was the structure of the dining tables that intrigued me. From the first restaurant I went to, I noticed that all the tables were circular and the chairs were put around it in a way that allows anyone sitting on the table to see the other. At first, I thought this is only the case for that restaurant, but I later discovered that almost all restaurants in Chengdu are set this way. It’s also noticeable that it’s very rare to go to a restaurant to find one or two people eating on the table. The table usually is filled with people who are friends, family or relatives.

The last aspect of the Chinese culture that I thought was interesting was their driving habits. I discovered that women are always the ones behind the wheel. I was staying with my friend’s family, and whenever any member of the family would drive us, the woman would be the one diving even if it’s the man’s car. He’d usually let her drive and then sit next to the driver’s seat. This has not only happened once or twice, but I’ve noticed that this was a common pattern of behaviour.